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ACCRINGTON Stanley have offered ex-Red Anthony Barry a deal - but are waiting to hear back from the battling midfielder.

The ex-Everton trainee played the first part of Stanley’s Conference winning season before being snapped up by Yeovil in January 2006.

The 21-year-old has featured for the League One team but was released at the end of last season.

Chairman Eric Whalley confirmed: "We have offered Anthony a deal but I do not know whether he will accept or not."

The chairman also said they had been in touch with another ex-Red Gary Roberts about a possible loan deal from Ipswich, the club he left the Reds for in 2006 for £220,000.

The winger has been told he is free to find a new club.

"We have also been speaking to Gary - the manager talks to him a lot anyway.

"I think he is available on a free and he is someone we have spoken to so we will have to see what happens."

The chairman met up with boss John Coleman on Wednesday to talk about plans for next season.

"I handed him about 130 names which have been given to us from agents.

"A lot are from Scotland but there have also been plenty released from England.

"Obviously you notice players like striker Danny Crow who has been released from Peterborough but whether he is someone the manager wants I don’t know.

"Then on the opposite side of the scale there have been strikers released from Halifax and you do wonder if they can do a job at this level. It is all in Coley’s hands."

One name which keeps cropping up is defender John McCombe. The Reds manager has chased the centre half for a number of years while he was at Huddersfield Town and when he was released by them last summer.

Instead the 23-year-old, who is from Yorkshire, joined Hereford United and many Bulls fans were shocked when he was released from Edgar Street following their promotion to League One earlier this month.

The chairman has not heard his name mentioned - but would not rule him out as Coleman begins to assemble his squad for next season.

Meanwhile the manager says he has a positive outlook for the new campaign.

Even though the Reds chief admits last season was largely one to forget with their dismal home shows and poor defensive record, he says people shouldn’t dwell on that.

Instead they should look how far the club has come - as nine years ago they were in the UniBond First Division and now they have just spent two seasons in the Football League.

"People are always ready to look to the negatives for us and I know our facilities aren't the best," said Coleman.

"But what we have done on the football pitch over the last 10 years shouldn’t be taken away from us.

"For the past two years we have beaten a lot of established sides in the Football League and we are here on merit.

"People should remember that and realise that we have come a long way in such a short space of time.

"And because of that, our facilities haven’t grown as quick.

"We are trying to do things right - we put a roof on one end last season and we have got an excellent youth set-up, the makings of which are now starting to develop. There are positive things and we are trying to do things in a positive way and do things right and people should look at that."

He says that lessons have been learnt from a season made up of too many lows with the Reds finishing in 17th place.

"The high point of the season was Bradford away when we won 3-0," said Coleman.

"But there has certainly been a few low points.

"The last game against Bury was low as there was all the nonsense in the press about the betting and we wanted to win the game to put everyone in their place.

"But overall, the low point for me would be the amount of goals we have conceded and how few we have scored because the latter is not like us.

"You have got to learn from every experience, though.

"You have got to learn that, if you can go to Bradford and pass a team to death in front of 14,000 fans, you can do it anywhere.

"And at home we have been drab and that has certainly not reflected mine and Jimmy's characters."

Meanwhile, the teams in League Two next season are now settled with Exeter winning promotion at Wembley and the fixtures out on Monday June 16.

FORMER Reds striker Andy Mangan has joined Conference side Forest Green. The 21-year-old, who was on loan from Bury last season after a couple of seasons with Stanley, has been snapped up by Jim Harvey. "I was after him last year," said Harvey. "He is very quick, dead keen, loves his football and I think he has got a lot of potential."

STANLEY are hoping to set up a summer friendly with Chinese side Chengdu Blades, owned by Sheffield United.